Influential property developer William Frame, the founder and chairman of Braemore Property Management, has written an analysis of the state of the market for the Edinburgh Evening News. In the article, he argues that now is the time to start being opportunistic about Edinburgh’s property market, as the first signs of recovery are just around the corner. You can read the full story here: http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Demand-means-property-market-will.4643971.jp or below. “Anyone trying to sell property probably doesn’t need reminding how tough it is out there. “But while the situation doesn’t make for good reading, it’s important that we don’t batten down the hatches completely and use every opportunity to talk ourselves into a housing market crisis. “In fact, it’s probably time we started to be optimistic… “And the truth is, there is every reason to believe that the property market is poised to make a very quick return to normal. “Think about it, in 2006 there were some 11,500 houses were sold through the ESPC; in 2007 around 10,500 properties changed hands. “Up to the end of August, there have been only 4500 houses sold through the ESPC in and around Edinburgh. “What that means is there is a tremendous pent-up demand brewing. The same thousands of people who moved home in the last two years can’t have suddenly disappeared. “Single professionals look to buy, couples get married or start families; dependent relatives come to stay; partners split up or elderly people look to downsize – and above all people continue to move jobs. These are all human factors that have absolutely no bearing on what is happening in the property market. “All that’s happened is that these groups of potential buyers have put any house buying on hold because of the credit crunch or lack of confidence in the market at this time. However, gradually we should expect to see volume lending return as the banking sector regains confidence. “That means that once the market takes a turn for the better, the champagne corks will start exploding. “All these people who have been holding back will return in their droves and we’ll see the return of families being able to find that place with a nice garden, the newly-weds finding their first home and the successful executive trading up. “Before too long, the market – which has been condemned to doom and disaster for so long – will bounce back to the place it was before, what I always believe should have been described as a banking crisis and not a housing crisis, happened. “Of course, the big question here is ‘when’? “I think we are getting very close. The US banks are starting to clean out their toxic debts, the mass shake-up in the UK banking sector is settling down and attractive mortgage rates have slowly been returning. “Confidence is a great thing in all walks of business and it’s clear there’s a movement growing to rid ourselves of this gloom and negativity. “The same – if not more – needs to apply to the property market. “To me, the ducks are all starting to point in the same direction – so let’s, for once, start to ensure we don’t shoot them down.”